Waiting for Her
by Kryptale
Summary: Jesse Aarons has become extremely ill and lies on his deathbed.  oneshot R&R!


**Author's Note: This is a quick one-shot that I was inspired to write after reading the poem "Rainbow Bridge" which was written by an apparently unknown author. I didn't put much thought into writing it, so I hope it isn't too horribly written.**

**SoT readers never fear! I am currently hard at work on chapter three and it should be up sometime between Friday and Monday.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bridge to Terabithia, yadda yadda.

**Waiting for Her**

"How's he doing?"

"He's hanging in there."

May Belle smiled weakly at Judy Burke as she turned and lead her and her husband inside the small hospital room. It was rather bright, the sun dancing brilliantly off of the metallic surfaces around the room. It was a fitting place, she couldn't help but think. For some reason, May Belle felt that Jesse wouldn't object to dying here. He was surrounded by the people that cared for him the most.

Old drawings of Terabithia that he had made more than twenty years ago were hanging all around the room. Some of them were amazing and some of them were a little sketchy. One that was done particularly well was of a little girl, standing cheerfully in front of a tree house, her hair blowing back in the wind. May Belle had had to dig that one up herself. It had been lost in one of Jesse's seldom used sketchbooks that he kept in one of six or seven large boxes in their parents' basement.

"Hey, Jess," Bill Burke said softly, placing a hand on the sickly man's as he pulled up a chair so that he could sit close. "How are you feeling?"

Jesse had to strain to talk. His voice was raspy as he had been instructed to avoid talking when he could. It would only speed up the process, and their were still plenty more people that he wanted to see. There were plenty more things that he needed to say. That was something he had learned; never to leave things unspoken.

"Thanks for coming, Mr, Burke," Jesse managed. "It means a lot."

"We came as soon as we heard," Judy said, holding back tears. "You have a wonderful family, Jess. They care so much about you."

Jesse closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

"It won't be long now," he told them. He could feel it inside of him, as if his internal clock was ticking louder and louder to make sure he knew how much time he had left. May Belle smiled lightly, but everything about her features described only hopelessness. Sadness. Jesse, didn't see it however, as he still kept his eyes on the door to the room, like he was expecting someone to walk through at any moment. His vision had started to blur, and he was hopeful that it would remain with him long enough. He didn't want to go yet.

His mother walked in a moment later, her face red and her posture extremely limp. She looked as if she hadn't slept, eaten or showered for days, but once again Jesse didn't notice. She wasn't who he was waiting for and his eyes didn't even follow a single one of her movements.

"Thanks for coming Judy," he heard his mother say. "Bill, you too. It means so much."

"Of course," Bill said, his voice obviously cracking. There wasn't a dry eye in the room now, except for Jesse's. He seemed to be the only one ready to accept what was about to happen. They weren't read to let go, but then again, when was anyone ready to let go of someone they loved?

Jesse hadn't lead an eventful life. He received a degree in Arts & Education and had spent the last few years teaching at Lark Creek Elementary. He had never gotten his driver's license. He had never married or had children. He had never even had a girlfriend, or even another friend for that matter. People had tried. People had truly tried to bring Jesse happiness, but the only time he was ever happy was when he went with May Belle, once a year, into Terabithia.

"Do you really have to go, Uncle Jess?"

Jesse let himself be distracted by his sister's son. Ronald, normally referred to as Little Ronny, had been hiding behind his mother's leg for the passed half hour. He had always looked up to Jesse, and he had always been the one joy in Jesse's life outside of his own imagination. Now, the boy was at his bedside.

"You stay strong," Jesse said, his voice coming on a lot easier than it had been. Time was pressing in on him. "Once this is all over, your mom will have something important to show you."

He glanced at May Belle, who was smiling at him. She knew exactly what he was implying. He had been speaking as much to her as to his nephew. He winked at her.

Everyone went silent for a few moments. Then it happened. Jesse's eyes went to the door of his room. His vision was so bad by this point that he could barely make out anything, and the only reason he knew who was who in the room was because he knew where they were standing.

There, in the doorway was a young, blond girl. He could make out her every feature. She hadn't aged a day since then, not that he had expected her to. His memory had been perfectly preserved. There wasn't anything about her that he didn't remember, and seeing her again only proved that fact. She was wearing the very same clothes that she had been wearing the last time he had seen her. She smiled grimly at him, her eyes full of both sadness and happiness.

"Leslie?" Jesse said allowed, his eyes wide and his lips curling into a smile.

Mr. and Mrs. Burke both looked expectantly at the door before the realization dawned on them. It was time. May Belle's smile vanished and she started sobbing uncontrollably. Mrs. Aarons just looked longingly at her son.

"It's time to go, Jess," Leslie said to him, her voice drowning out everything that was happening around him. He stood, but left his body behind. The sound of his heart monitor beeping changed to a long droning sound. Suddenly, he was twelve years old again, standing next to his best friend. She smiled warmly at him and gripped his arm. Jesse allowed his hand to relax as she took hold of it.

Together, they started walking, at first toward the other side of the hospital. As the walked on, the path before them began to take shape. They were walking through endless white, but Leslie appeared to know where they were going. After what felt like hours of walking in silence, something started to take shape before them.

The sign was the first thing to register in Jesse's mind. _Nothing Crushes Us._ And then, the entire bridge, glowing a brilliant silver, was before them. He wanted to say something to Leslie, to tell her all about the bridge to Terabithia. He had built it for her, in memory of her. He had never thought that she would one day lay eyes on it.

They stopped in front of it and looked at each other. Leslie only smiled at him. He was going to say something when she stopped him.

"Our time together was cut horribly short Jess," Leslie acknowledged. "Here, there is no time. There is only eternity. In that eternity, I don't want to hear your apologies or your regrets. None of that matters now."

As they started across the bridge, Leslie started to speak again.

"Look, Jess," she said quietly, with some excitement in her voice. "They must have heard that the young man coming from so far away is the king of Terabithia."

"Who heard?"

"It's a whole new part in our story, Jess," Leslie replied. "You just have to close your eyes, and keep your mind wide open."


End file.
